The BA 500

Nander De Sedas

The BA 500 is an attempt to capture the industry’s consensus on the talent of a deep 2018 class—not to predict where players will be selected on June 4-6. The list was compiled in consultation with major league scouts, front office executives, scouting directors, college coaches and other professional evaluators. JJ Cooper, Teddy Cahill, Kyle Glaser, Kegan Lowe, Bill Mitchell and Carlos Collazo contributed to the reporting.

The first update of the BA 500 comes a week after the initial release of the list, and doesn’t feature too much significant change, though it does more accurately reflect some of the helium that players like Florida third baseman Jonathan India and Canadian prep catcher/third baseman Noah Naylor have continued to possess within the industry.

Unsurprisingly, Auburn righthander Casey Mize remains entrenched in the No. 1 spot of these rankings, as the clear top player in the class and the favorite to go to the Tigers with the first overall pick of the draft on June 4.

It continues to look like college players will dominate the top 10, leaving teams in the rest of the first round with a number of more volatile, yet talented, high school pitchers and hitters to consider. The depth of high school righthanders is incredible, which will make things interesting as teams decide whether or not to take more chances on the riskiest demographic in the draft in the first and following rounds.